The present invention relates to the field of vehicle devices, and, more particularly, to a tracking and alerting system for a vehicle.
Motor vehicles, such as passenger cars, trucks, busses, fleet vehicles, etc. Are widely used and knowing the locations of such vehicles is often desired. For example, should a vehicle be stolen, it would be beneficial to know the vehicle""s location so that authorities could be promptly and accurately directed to retrieve the vehicle. Indeed, the tracking system could plot the getaway path of the thief.
For a company with hired drivers, it may be desirable to know the driver""s whereabouts during the course of the day. Similarly, a rental car agency or other fleet operator, for example, may wish to know the whereabouts of its fleet of vehicles.
It may also be desirable to track the location of a vehicle as it is used throughout the course of a normal day. For parents of younger or older drivers, for example, knowledge of the vehicle""s location may provide some assurance that the driver is at designated locations and following a prescribed route.
A number of patents disclose various systems and approaches to tracking vehicles. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,844 discloses a tracking system including a control center and a mobile unit installed in the vehicle. The mobile unit may send security warnings to the command center via a wireless transceiver. Position information for the vehicle is determined using a GAPS receiver at the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,043 discloses a similar system which may send one or more pre programmed telephone messages to a user when away from the vehicle. The user may remotely access location information or cause certain commands to be carried out by entering a personal identification number (PIN).
The widespread availability and use of the Internet has prompted a number of vehicle tracking systems to also make use of the Internet. For example, TelEvoke, Inc. Proposed such a system in combination with Cliffors Electronics. The system was to provide notification, control and tracking services via the telephone or the Internet. Users could be notified via phone, e-mail, or page of events such as a car alarm being triggered. Users could control the vehicle remote devices via phone, web, or PDA such as unlocking car doors. Additionally, users could track TelEvoke-enabled vehicles on the Internet or via the telephone. An Internet map could be viewed by the user showing the actual and prior vehicle locations. TelEvoke offered its services via a centralized fully automated Network Operations Center. To reduce the communications costs, it was proposed to use the control channel of the cellular telephone network.
Many conventional vehicle tracking units include many input and output connections. Accordingly, such units may be difficult to install in a vehicle. This is especially so since the space available to access and connect to vehicle wires is likely to be restricted. Accordingly, errors in the initial installation may occur. Accurate diagnosis of any such errors may be time consuming and add further to the installation costs. Maintenance of an installed system may also be complicated if each connection must be individually checked and rechecked.
Certain general approaches have been developed for diagnosing whether vehicle devices are installed correctly. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,186 to Long et al. describes a remote automobile starter including a diagnostic system. The diagnostic system includes a respective LED corresponding to each of the wires used to connect the remote starter to various devices in the automobile (e.g., ignition switch, horn, lights, etc.). Each LED may then be used to indicate if the remote starter is correctly connected to the respective device when the device is activated.
Another diagnostic approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,167,255 to Kennedy, III et al. This patent is directed to a communication system which includes a mobile unit to be installed in a vehicle that uses a GAPS device to provide position information. The mobile unit allows a user to perform diagnostic tests on components such as engine sensors, alarm devices, door lock/unlock devices, and even computing devices such as a laptop computer or personal data assistant (PDA). Diagnostic results may then be stored in a memory or displayed on a user interface.
While the above diagnostic approaches may provide certain advantages, it may also be desirable to determine not just whether a vehicle tracking unit is connected properly or whether vehicle devices connected thereto are functioning properly, but also to determine whether the vehicle tracking unit itself is functioning properly. In particular, it may be advantageous to know whether the vehicle tracking unit is providing the appropriate outputs for driving vehicle devices, whether such devices are connected to the vehicle tracking unit or not.
In view of the foregoing background, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle tracking unit which includes self diagnostic features and related methods.
This and other objects, features, and advantages in accordance with the present invention are provided by a vehicle tracking unit which may include a vehicle position determining device, a wireless communications device, and a controller cooperating with the wireless communications device and the vehicle position determining device for sending vehicle position information to a monitoring station. Furthermore, the vehicle tracking unit may also include at least one local diagnostic indicator connected to the controller, and the controller may include a plurality of output driver circuits for respective vehicle devices. The controller may be switch able to a diagnostic mode wherein at least one output driver circuit is tested, and results thereof may be indicated by the at least one local diagnostic indicator.
More particularly, the controller, when in the diagnostic mode, may sequentially test a plurality (or all) of the output driver circuits. When in the diagnostic mode, the controller may determine whether each driver circuit is connected to respective vehicle devices defining at least one connected output driver circuit. Thus, the controller, when in the diagnostic mode, may advantageously test only the at least one connected output driver circuit.
Furthermore, the controller may cooperate with the at least one local diagnostic indicator so that the at least one indicator is only operable when the controller is in the diagnostic mode. This feature may be particularly beneficial when an output driver circuit is connected to a particular vehicle device, as the at least one local diagnostic indicator may otherwise provide an unwanted indication each time the vehicle device is activated during normal use.
By way of example, the at least one local diagnostic indicator may include an audible indicator and/or a visual indicator. In addition, the at least one local diagnostic indicator may be a respective diagnostic indicator for each output driver circuit. The vehicle tracking unit may also include a switch connected to the controller for switching the controller to the diagnostic mode.
Furthermore, the controller may cooperate with the wireless communications device to receive a diagnostic signal from the monitoring station, and the controller may switch to the diagnostic mode based upon the diagnostic signal. The controller may also cooperate with the wireless communications device to send test result indications to the monitoring station. Additionally, the vehicle position determining device may be a Global Positioning System (GAPS) device, and the wireless communications device may be a cellular telephone communications device, for example.
A method aspect of the invention is for performing diagnostics on a vehicle tracking unit (such as the one described briefly above) which includes a plurality of output driver circuits for respective vehicle devices. The method may include switching the vehicle tracking unit to a diagnostic mode, testing at least one of the output driver circuits when the vehicle tracking unit is switched to the diagnostic mode, and indicating results from the testing using at least one local diagnostic indicator.